FL3SH
by RMSE
Summary: "Everywhere's a graveyard these days... No rest for the living. No rest for the dead." A zombie apocalypse hit the world hard, spreading faster than a flame on oil it seemed. Bodies laid everywhere - walked everywhere. Was there any chance of survival? Uchiha Sasuke & his group suffer through hardships, deaths and revelations in search of hope, a cure, and life. Can they find them?
1. I'm Out of Bullets

Aah, I've revised the chapter at last! uvu Sorry for taking so long with this, ahaaa. Inspiration vanished almost instantaneously. D; How sad. I appreciate all the reviews and follows so far and I'm really hoping I can keep up with this! ;cc; I do have a few things planned out for this story. x) I probably still won't be very fast with this as my writing inspiration doesn't come so commonly with me, but I'll maybe possibly try at least a chapter a month from here on, LOLOL. /sobs forever. (Imakenopromises.)

[Sasuke x Naruto]

Naruto (c) M. Kishimoto

_Series Warning:_ _Rated __**M**__ for strong language, various implications, multitude of violence, possible sexual conduct, etc..._

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><p><strong>"Everywhere's a graveyard these days... No rest for the living. No rest for the dead." A zombie apocalypse hit the world hard, spreading faster than a flame on oil it seemed. Bodies laid everywhere - walked everywhere. Was there any chance of survival? Uchiha Sasuke &amp; his group suffer through hardships, deaths and revelations in search of hope, a cure, and life. Can they find them?"<strong>

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><p>"Shit, <em>shit<em>! I'm out of bullets!"

"The hell you mean, you're out of bullets!?"

"I'm out of fucking - !" Uzumaki Naruto yelped and ducked down a millisecond too late - at least for his hair, a bullet whizzing over his head, barely grazing by. As a bead of sweat trickled down his cheek, his crystal orbs watched as the glimmering strands scattered softly on the pavement. He scowled. It was personal now. "Motherfucker!" Despite the fact the gunman, whom was so crudely spitting bullets like a mad man, hadn't seized fire, Naruto erupted to his feet and mustered his full force into hurling his gun across the way, utterly ignoring the shouts and orders for him to get down.

To everyone's amazement - including Naruto's own - the piece slammed square in the face of the enemy, the barrel of the gun reaming into his forehead hard, causing him to stumble back a step, focus momentarily lost. Without a beat missed, a bullet drove straight into the man's temple. The body stilled, the sound of Naruto's gun bouncing off the pavement below heard as the upright body hung for a middle of a second before it dropped into a bleeding, ungraceful heap, the weapon the man was holding clattering heavily to the ground beside it.

Cold ebony eyes narrowed as the AWM sniper rifle was lowered. The firing pin was pulled back as Naruto looked over his shoulder towards the raven-haired shooter.

The blond snorted. "I could've got him!" Doubting he'd receive a reply and not bothering to wait for the possibility, he turned back around and headed for the body. His chest rose and fell rather quickly from the heat of his adrenaline and he swallowed dryly, bringing the back of his wrist across his forehead as he glared bitterly at the corpse below. He nudged him a bit with his boot, if not for the sole purpose in making sure he was really dead. Couldn't trust a damn thing these days. He spat on the ground nearby, nose crinkling in irritation. He lifted his attention to scout about the battle field, eyes narrowed as he took in details.

Their healthy group of four had fallen under aim of a larger group of selfish bandits, the lowsome bastards. Eight of them versus half. Hardly fair. Well, if Naruto were to really think about it, both he and their captain of sorts could count for two people themselves, but either way, that still added up to be less. Not that Naruto thought they were looking for a fair fight to begin with. In the end, Naruto found it hard to blame them doing such a thing in these times, however, being sympathetic wouldn't get him anywhere. He frowned, watching as another of his group shoved a body over the harbor just off the street, the woman having given a soft grunt as her foot shoved him afar. He sighed quietly before returning his eyes to the body at his feet. He knelt down, placing an elbow on his knee before grabbing up his gun with a miffed expression. "Piece a crap..."

"Ain't a piece of crap just cuz it's empty - don't you throw that out."

Naruto flicked his orbs to the brunet that spoke to him. "Why? I doubt we're gonna find any ammo for this gun in the future. We haven't found a damn gun that's been the same yet. Doubt those odds are gonna change. It's just extra luggage for us at this point," he reasoned, looking back to the piece.

"I guess you have a point there..." Inuzuka Kiba mumbled reluctantly, also looking to the gun. "What about his gun?" He nodded towards the late bandit.

Naruto turned and whipped the gun into the harbor, it disappearing with a resounding _plunk_. He bent over and lazily snatched up the other gun, making a face of disgust as he shook off some droplets of red. He opened up the magazine and gave a guttural snort. "One fuckin' bullet. What shit."

"A bullet more than you have now," Kiba stated with a shrug.

"Annoying... You search the guy you shot?"

"Yeah. Actually," a crooked grin came onto the brunet's face as he rose his hand to gesture in the direction he'd come, "He had some - "

"_Ow_!" Naruto suddenly yelped aloud, hands reeling to his assaulted cranium after he was clocked upside the head with the butt of a pistol. "The bloody hell was that - ?!"

"_Don't you even dare fucking ask me, you son of a bitch!_" Yamanaka Ino snarled viciously, causing Naruto to shrink back in a start. It caused Kiba to shift uncomfortably, too. Yelling women were once something familiar in his life, but that didn't mean he ever enjoyed the volume. And the shouting was usually followed by violence. Always violence. Though apparently with Ino, the violence came first. "The _fuck_ was that, Uzumaki?! Are you crazy?! You could've been fucking shot! You're lucky that fuckface had terrible aim and you're lucky you hit you're fucking target! Think with your _head_, moron!"

"I _was_!" Naruto angrily defended, hands dropping from his welting wound to coil into angry fists. He stiffly cut his hand through the air as he returned Ino's glare full force, "I was out of fucking bullets and nobody else seemed to be able to get a good goddamn shot in! You guys can't even aim with fucking bullets and I can aim with a whole goddamn gun - who's the one who needs to be lectured here?! How 'bout you step the fuck up, Yamanaka, and _back the fuck off?!_ You're not the leader of this group so quit acting like your panties run the goddamn crew!" Even if he couldn't believe his aim had been spot on himself, no need for her to know that.

Ino reared her head, her eyes welling with pure fury. "_Excuse me_, you little pint-sized dickshit?!"

"_Enough_," came a cool and annoyed tone as a pair of black boots skulked up to the electrified two. A cigarette was poised between two pale lips, a hand dressed in a leather fingerless glove raised to flick a lighter once, twice before it burned a good cherry into the paper roll of toxins. He shoved away the lighter and drew in a deep, cycling hit. "We don't need this shit right now," he began after a moment, having momentarily plucked the cigarette from his mouth as he spoke, smoke seeping from his lips as they moved. "Save it or pitch it, I don't care, but _not now_," was the cemented order, charcoal pools giving a single hard glance to the both of them before he turned his head, gazing over the lot of the gunman that had ambushed them. "... It's not safe here. The sound of the shots might as well have been a dinner bell for _them_, even clear across town. We need to move. Now. Loot what you can and regroup at the bus." Uchiha Sasuke turned with that, replacing the cancer stick to its rightful place. He had but two left, and he used them sparingly - unlike Ino and Naruto did with their bullets. No matter the piece, Sasuke was diligent in each bullet not being a waste - he wasn't the frontman for a reason.

The group resided in an old traveler bus - it looked like a piece of groaning trash, but it did what it needed to and kept them safe so far. It acted as their base, their safe house, and their protection. To them, it was the best thing to call home. As they were driving by the harbor, a seemingly injured man stumbled his way in their path, begging for help for his injured daughter. Before Sasuke could give the order to ignore and floor it instead, bullets were peppering the windows of their shelter. They had no choice but to quickly descend off the bus to have at the opposition. Other broken down cars and debris all around acted as their barricades easy enough, and it helped the bandits were laughable shooters. Sasuke, however, had remained on the bus, allowing the ambushers themselves to decide their crew consisted of only three people. Within their base, it was easy to pick off the more difficult thieves with his sniper rifle; every time he fired, a body dropped. He killed four of the men, Naruto killing two, Kiba one and Ino one. The last one, however... If it hadn't been for Naruto's random and moronic act, he would've wasted perhaps a single bullet in trying to shoot the fucker since he'd been rather like an ugly rat, dodging and diving behind all possible barricades - but Sasuke wasn't about to praise the idiot. As Ino said, Naruto was lucky. But the blond always seemed to be lucky. Even before hell claimed the Earth's surface. But luck didn't last forever.

Sasuke moved the cigarette from his lips and gave a quiet sigh, smoke spilling about as he stopped in his path and turned his focus elsewhere, making an idle mental note to scold Naruto later about the haphazard and breakneck incident; having a spitfire like that around was dangerous for everyone, but Sasuke was also overall concerned for Naruto's lack of self-safety. _Idiot..._ he thought quietly, feet taking him in a different direction as he replaced the tube of cancer to his lips, his rifle hanging readily from his shoulder by its strap, pointed down for now while his hand remained over the handle, finger ghosting over the trigger. He needed to reload it when they returned on the bus. Walking around with a single bullet didn't offer much comfort. Setting Naruto's moronic tendencies aside, they had other priorities right now.

He stopped just behind a head of bobbing chocolate hair, lifting his chin a slight in tilt of his head. "Inuzuka...?" he spoke inquisitively, faintly raising a brow.

"I was telling Uzumaki earlier that I got a handheld transceiver off that guy over there earlier. This guy has one, too. We should check the others in case they have any. It'd be nice for us all to communicate if we aren't in form." Kiba looked over his shoulder, body turning just a slight with the motion. "Oi, Yamanaka! See if that fuck's got a walkie-talkie on him, too! I've already found two and - "

"Kiss my ass!"

Kiba's brow twitched. "Such a fuckin' peach, she is." He faced forward again, turning over the device in his hand, taking off the back and smirking. "Batteries... Has batteries." He wiggle the thing in his hand some as he showed Sasuke with his pleased expression. It almost faltered at Sasuke's return of a blank mask for a face. Could nothing make this guy's mug budge at all anymore? The most this guy seemed to muster was a smidge of slipped agitation, mainly at their group clown.

"We don't know how much juice they have in them... We'll eventually need more batteries for them. We've already got dead flashlights. We can't have too many items that require the same materials," he stated, looking over the contraption. HTs could be convenient, but the unofficial leader wasn't too keen on having the group split at any given time, no matter the reason; he wasn't fond of the idea of ever giving these devices a legitimate purpose.

Kiba frowned, dropping his eyes as well. "Yeah... Those guys were probably shootin' us up for supplies, hopin' we had somethin' good... Tch. Assholes. Promise me we'll never resort to that kind of shit." The brunet stood, shaking his head some. "There's gotta be some sort of good guys remaining in this world."

"Go right ahead and be one then," Sasuke said despondently.

Kiba handed him a look. "You sound so passionate. You don't give a fuck about much, do you?"

"Just what I need to," Sasuke admitted.

A corner of Kiba's lips tugged back. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about that sort of answer. Sasuke wasn't a bad guy, but he certainly wasn't a hero either. _Anti-hero...?_ He thought with a perked brow. _Whatever... _He just let it go and returned his focus to the situation at hand. "... That whole sh'bang was a large waste of ammo for us. And in general." He licked over his teeth some as he took it all in.

"Yeah... I got one bullet left in my magazine and only one cartridge left on the bus for this gun," Sasuke stated, sounding none too pleased at this fact. (1)

"If we don't find stock soon, we'll be left with melee weapons. You and Naruto are good at close combat, and I don't think I'm too shit, but Ino..." He flicked a look to the other that wrote everything he shouldn't say.

Sasuke easily understood the message before his own eyes fell shut, lungs raking in more toxins as he remained silent.

"We could try to track down where the rest of these guys' group members are?" Kiba offered as the next plan of action, looking for a direction from the other.

Sasuke met his gaze. "I thought you wanted to be the good guy?"

"I didn't say I'd agree with it."

"Then don't suggest it," Sasuke remarked, turning with that said and heading back towards the bus. "Bring the HTs. Just in case," he ordered the other over his shoulder. "We'll have to find more supplies here soon regardless."

Kiba watched his back before giving out a huff. _He says such things... No, he's not a bad guy. Just a stubborn fuck. _"Tsundere, I bet..." he muttered, watching the others retreating back.

Sasuke felt conflicted. His face remained impassive but he inwardly frowned. He hated supply searching. It was the most dangerous thing to do, but also the most necessary. As he went, he peered to his left, watching as Ino took a blade to another gunman's head before sufficiently kicking him in the side angrily and cursing at him. He'd already been shot in the head - the woman must've been relieving further anger or frustrating. Wasn't uncommon with her. Sasuke turned away from her direction to give a brief scan over the grounds. Naruto wasn't in sight. That was always a worrisome thing. "... Tch. Yamanaka," he called, approaching her some, "Where's Naruto?"

She replied with a snort. "Who gives a squatted shit," she hissed, face contorting to show the pure love she had for the other said member of their team.

Sasuke felt agitated at the tension the two somehow developed toward one another. It was overall detrimental to the group, but more than anything - it was just fucking annoying. If the team could be a bit less contentious, it would make things just that much easier. He turned, heading for their rather beat-up-looking traveler bus. Luckily, it hadn't sustained that much damage. Most of the windows were officially shot out, which particularly sucked, and there were some holes on her exterior, but nothing above what she could handle. In these times anymore, the bus probably seemed like a sparkling Porsche to the vulnerable. Or a shining target to enemies. It was a win-lose situation at times. "Naruto!" he called into the beast, leaning forward a tad, a forearm on the door frame. "Oi!"

"What is it?" came a rather curt reply, causing Sasuke to look leftward as Naruto appeared from around the back of the bus, holding a new weapon Sasuke wasn't familiar with his team having. The raven nodded curiously at the thing. "The fuck that was shooting from the vendor stall had it," the blond answered the silent question, turning over the piece speculatively. "Ino didn't check him over so I did. I'm not sure what kinda gun it is, but it's got about half a load left - and it's got a silencer on it." He stopped before Sasuke and held out the weapon, the raven taking it to look over himself. "I think he was relatively their sniper of sorts. Fuckin' sucked." He smirked, "Then again, none of them knew you were in the bus, so he didn't have a chance before you got 'im."

Sasuke's eyes briefly flicked up to meet with Naruto's before dropping back to the gun. "It's a Desert Eagle, fifty cal... Good gun in shit hands... Figures." He held it out for the blond to take, which he did, before his fingers removed the cancer stick from his lips. "Keep that gun for yourself. Store the other one on the bus with the others."

"You want the silencer?"

"I already have one. Keep that. Just don't be retarded with it." He gestured his gun a bit, glancing at it before taking a quick hit of his cigarette, looking at Naruto directly now. "... That was stupid."

Naruto was quiet a moment before he exchanged the guns in his holster, his thick coat rustling with his movements. He removed the last bullet from the one gun and looked it over in his palm, mainly to avoid eye contact. "... I know. I'm sorry. I was just..."

"Getting frustrated in that sort of situation isn't acceptable," Sasuke stated flatly. He shared no sympathy with Naruto's lack of emotional control. It was always a problem of the other's, even before. Sasuke plenty tolerated it, but the blond pushed limits at times, like now. "You're not a one-man squad, Naruto. When you do that, it jeopardizes everyone."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I know."

"If you know, then work on it."

"I - " Naruto began, piercing a glare at the other before his teeth grit and gaze fell away, his spark dimming as quickly as it had come. "... Yes, sir."

An edge took place in Sasuke's eyes that Naruto failed to see. The raven merely turned himself, looking towards Yamanaka. He wanted to scold her as well for her childish conduct towards her comrade but that notion dispersed instantly due to what caught his attention in his peripheral. He frowned and cursed as he squinted irritably, "Shit." He bit down on his cigarette, cutting his arm through the air. "Time's up! Load up now!" he barked, eyes staring into the distance at the movement he saw. His finger anxiously hovered over the trigger of his rifle.

Naruto peered off in the direction the raven was boring a hole into. He gave a gruff snort before tossing himself quickly onto the bus.

Ino stood and looked to Sasuke before following his line of sight. She cursed as well, moving with haste. "Already? I thought we'd have a little more time!" She jogged over and lifted herself into the bus with a sort of bouncing grace and into a seat, staring hard through the broken windshield, her gun ready for anything. Her nerves hadn't settled from their previous bout in the least. Her finger was itchy on the trigger.

Kiba was the next to go on with Sasuke quickly following behind, closing the door after his entrance. The brunet dumped his loot into a duffel bag under a seat before throwing himself into the drivers seat, revving the rustic engine to life. The bus roared obnoxiously at first and only for a few seconds before it quieted down to a grated pur. "Yamanaka, did that guy have a walkie-talkie?" He glanced at her in the mirror, watching her nod.

"Yeah, I put it in the bag already."

"Good. That makes three," the brunet murmured, focusing ahead for a second, eyes burning the fuckers he saw in the distance as he began reversing the bus. "Those straggling bags of rotting flesh are faster than one would fuckin' think," he commented bitterly, "At least some of the fuckers are." He shifted gears and turned the bus with a practiced ease, pulling away gingerly before making their way.

Ino watched as the scenery began to promptly fade behind them. "... Why do they come in herds...?" she questioned softly, brows knit down. "_Pack_ seems hella more fitting, if you ask me..." she grumbled. "Things are worse than the wildest beasts children could ever have nightmares about..."

Sasuke watched Ino, the blond taking out a used cloth from one of their supply bags and wiping down her dagger, silently stewing. The raven turned his attention out the back window before looking to Naruto, who was seated on the walkway floor, trifling through the duffel bag Kiba had tossed the HTs into.

"Fighting amongst ourselves is such a damn waste," Kiba griped, shaking his head. "Sometimes, I think a good lot of mankind deserves this kind of petty fate."

"The world doesn't deserve this," Ino commented tightly, "Not a single soul deserves this, Inuzuka."

Kiba glanced in his rearview mirror before his eyes fell away, silence befalling the brunet.

"These things work, Kiba?" Naruto inquired, holding up one of the devices for the other to see.

"Dunno. They should. They got batteries. Give 'em a shot."

And the blond did so, twisting the knobs to turn two of them on and reaching one out to the left while speaking into the one on his right. A grin cracked on his face when he heard the crackle of his voice echo from one walkie-talkie to the other. "Son of a bitch..."

Kiba couldn't help but catch Naruto's smile. Even Ino gave a small curve of her lips at the news. Sasuke merely huffed with a silent content.

The blond dove back into the bag for the third one, pulling it out and turning it on as well. He did the same thing, but frowned when he heard no echo. He brought the silent device back and looked over it, noticing the screen didn't display the same digits and coding as the previous two. He turned it over and checked the back cartridge. It had batteries. He tried again and frowned even further. "... Guess it doesn't work. Might've gotten damaged in the fight or something."

Kiba's nose twitched. "Great."

"At least we have two," Naruto said, trying to think more positively. "Two is a good amount for our group."

"Three would've been better," Ino griped, causing Naruto to cast her petulant look.

"My guess is the group was part of a larger faction," Kiba commented, trying to drive between the developing tension of the two blonds.

"Probably," Sasuke murmured.

"What d'you wanna do?" the brunet inquired, glancing at the sniper in his mirror.

"For now, you'll turn them off and quit wasting the battery," the raven remarked, handing Naruto a pointed look. The blond made a face but turned off the devices. "We don't need them now. We'll use them to our best advantage if the necessity arises. We aren't separated often and it's best to keep it that way. If anything, we should hope not to have a need for them," he said, meeting Naruto's gaze.

He gave a stern nod before shuffling the devices back in the sack, zipping it up and shoving it away. He then stood, moving to sit down in the seat just in front of their makeshift commander.

"I found a radio, too," Kiba announced as he took a turn. "But it needs batteries."

"Course it does," Ino said with a bitter snort. "What good would a damn radio do us anyway? I doubt anyone is broadcasting."

"Someone could be. There could be someone trying to reach out to people," Naruto said, looking to his lap. It wasn't an argumentative statement so much as Naruto trying to think that himself. It was a nice thought, but delivered mostly false comfort, he was sure.

Ino snorted. "If that's so, then they've probably been shot and run-over by other lowlives and - "

"Enough."

Ino blinked in a start, eyes flicking to meet Sasuke's piercing gaze. She'd annoyed him with her pessimistic words. Her lips pressed into a thin line and she just looked out her window, falling silent.

"We have a few doubles," Naruto said, referring to batteries, trying his best to ignore Ino's words. He looked to Kiba hopefully but instantly deflated when Kiba shook is head. "Triples?"

"Triples," the brunet confirmed with a strong huff. They didn't have any AAA batteries.

"Fuckin' triples," Naruto grumbled, wrinkling his nose at the side in vexation. He slowly blinked as his mind began cranking some gears, a hand raising to rub at the back of his neck. His hand stilled before he suddenly removed himself from his seat, crawling off the bench and to a different bag, yanking it out from beneath a stall and began thoroughly searching through it before plucking out a rolled up piece of paper. He could feel Ino and Sasuke's eyes on him but he focused on undoing the curled map, spreading it out over the seat he had just been in. His arms were spread out with his palms pressing down the map edges to keep it flat, his mind calculating the routes they've traversed and the routes nearby, as well as other things.

"What is it?" Ino inquired a bit indignantly, earning a brief acuate glance from Sasuke.

"Remember the drug store I pointed on when we passed it?" Naruto spoke, ignoring the tone the other blond spoke with for the moment.

"You mean the one that was crawling with the man-eaters?" Ino said with a curl of her lip and a skeptical face.

"Yeah. I think that place will probably have some batteries. May have a lot of things untouched there since it's so heavily covered with those things."

Ino scowled. "After the damn gun range practice we just had, we don't have the bullets for that sort of mission now, idiot! And a damn drug store sure as hell isn't going to provide us with ammunition!"

Naruto turned a glare to her. "We don't need just bullets to take these guys down!"

"I'm not going into a herd of damn _zombies _just waving a fucking knife around, you jackass! Four of us versus thirty of them - not my kind of odds!" Ino growled.

"What else do you suggest, Yamanaka?!" Naruto said fiercely. "We _need_ supplies! Medicine, food, batteries, and plenty of other shit that drug store can possibly give us! We're running low on everything!"

"God, I'm willing to do it just for some fuckin' _food_," Kiba mildly chimed in, not caring to think about how hungry he was.

"We can find stuff like that _elsewhere_! Where it's _safer_!" Ino argued.

"And that's exactly what other passer-bys have probably thought, which is probably why that place may still be stocked and other 'safer' areas are picked clean!"

"You're a fucking idiot!" Ino snarled, Naruto growling in anger.

"I am not!"

"Are too, you fuckin' lunatic!"

"He has a point."

"I'm not a fuckin' luna - ! ... Wait, what?"

"What?" Ino echoed, both the blonds looking to Sasuke in unison.

"It makes sense," the raven commented, now standing, eyes on the map Naruto was still holding flat.

"What?" Ino said more incredulously.

Naruto just sort of stared, surprised at the taller male who moved an arm over the back of his bench seat and leaned over to better view the map.

"It's extremely dangerous, but there's logic in it. Yamanaka's way of thought is exactly what people would think - to move on in hopes of something with less risk."

"But Sasuke - we need a fuckin' _tank_ to get through them..." Ino almost pleaded, not liking where this was going in the damn least.

"Which means there's a strong possibility that store hasn't been looted yet," Sasuke continued, ignoring the girl mewls.

"But how in the _fuck_ would we pull that the fuck off?" Kiba remarked from his position. His question was earnest. "I get your logic n' all, but c'mon... Unless we sacrifice ole Birtha here," he patted a hand on the bus' steering wheel, "And just ram all the damn fuckers with the horn blaring to distract the whole damn neighborhood lot of them, there's not a lot we can do with the few bit of manpower we got, Cap'n."

"We can't sacrifice the bus," Ino said in an almost panic, eyes widening as she flicked her gaze to Sasuke. She almost felt herself begin to tremble. "This - This is our base. This is our _haven_ - our place of _safety!_ We can't use the bus! Sasuke - !"

"We're _not_ using the bus," Sasuke cut her off coldly, giving her a settling look.

"But there may be other vehicles around that we can set off the horn or alarm to," Naruto said, looking at Kiba with a smirk before looking up to Sasuke. "That'll draw them away easy enough."

The raven nodded. "We need to hide the bus though when we get in the area. Most of the streets were narrow there before and traveling will just attract them again..."

"That was fun..." Naruto murmured blandly, recalling the soulless followers they'd obtained on their first come-through.

Ino was now rubbing nervously over her arm, eyes staring a hole into the floor of the bus. She was scared, Sasuke could plainly see it. He wasn't sure if he felt annoyed or sympathetic to the woman. Probably annoyed.

He said nothing to her either way and just removed his gaze from her, focusing back on the map. "I want one person remaining somewhere safely outside - "

"_Safely outside_ - you're using that _loosely_, right?" Kiba remarked.

Sasuke ignored him. "Just in case anything goes wrong, they can be used as a sort of back-up. The rest of us will go inside for the supplies."

"Who's stayin' out?" Naruto asked, looking to the face of their unofficial leader.

No one had actually elected Sasuke as the head of the group - Sasuke himself surely didn't. But naturally, everyone automatically fell into line that way, since Sasuke had the best skills and most experience out of all of them, having combat dexterity and undisclosed military training of sorts, and he was the best at keeping a level head. That was a treasured thing in these times, along with his other laundry list of assets. He was their deadliest weapon and their most valuable piece. Normally, it'd feel like a lot of pressure, and Sasuke felt that pressure every once in a while, but ignoring it helped; shoving it away and focusing on other things was what really aided him in not falling apart like others he had seen far too many times now. The strain and struggle of life was real, and Sasuke didn't have just his own to worry about any longer. Though they were stronger in numbers, it only added further to Sasuke's stress of trying to keep everyone safe when the group grew. It was a double-edged sword for him, but he would tell no one. He'd take that sword and cover it away with a black cloth, not to be seen for a long time.

The raven sighed heavily, rubbing at the back of his neck as he tried to calculate who'd be best to leave outside - they wouldn't be in any less or more danger than the three inside, but they'd be alone and unable to have back-up for themselves. He knew Ino was utterly no good. She had her moments; she was useful, but in a crowd of these _things_, she froze. She had limits. They'd almost lost her once before by a similar instance. To a blind eye, she'd seem over it by now, but she wasn't. She was affected by everything straight to her core, no matter how hard she tried to hide it, but in the end - she wasn't an Uchiha. She wasn't used to masking her emotions like it was a hobby since she was born. Her fears slipped out and quietly (or sometimes not so quietly) made themselves known. If Sasuke could, he would leave her on the bus, but that was even worse. He didn't care to leave her so far and alone. He needed to keep her in the group. She would go inside with the other two.

Naruto was on the opposite side of the emotional spectrum from Ino - sort of. Instead of exuding fear, he exuded adrenaline and stupidity. He was strong, granted, he had his moments of brilliance (extremely rare), yes. But Sasuke honestly didn't trust the blond to behave himself if left alone. He couldn't leave Naruto outside. What about Kiba? He'd been useful before as a look-out. _So it's either me or Kiba..._ He frowned. He didn't want the group to enter the building without him. They needed leadership on the inside, didn't they? Could they do it without him right there? Would Ino shut down again? Would Naruto go ballistic? Would Kiba be aware enough? His jaw clenched as a dull headache began to pulse at the back of his head. He closed his eyes and rubbed over his face.

"You should stay outside."

Sasuke lowered his hand just enough for this dark eyes to drop down to Naruto, who looked back at him with a seriousness in his gaze. "... And why do you think that?"

"It's the smartest choice. Kiba and I can handle things inside if anything gets hazy," Naruto said, a little quietly as he gave a sideways glance at Ino, who seemed to have gotten lost in her own little world, which probably wasn't a good thing. Whenever that girl crawled into her own mind for too long, things got iffy with her. He looked back to Sasuke. "Besides, you're a sniper. You can hide somewhere across from the pharmacy and scope out anything that might take us by surprise on the outside. Kiba can't do that if you leave him outside."

Sasuke's chin elevated a centimeter.

"We can execute this not that much differently than we did with the bandits - you stay behind and let us go ahead. Kiba's a good look-out, but even so, he doesn't possess your experience or your way with a sniper rifle."

The raven took note of how Naruto didn't even suggest himself to be stationed outside. He was curious as to why the blond wouldn't nominate himself for the job since he was typically bullheaded, but he wouldn't ask. It just made things easier for once. The blond understood, and that's all he needed. Sasuke was debating a moment before looking between Kiba and Naruto. "You two can handle yourselves inside?"'

"All three of us can," Ino meekly pitched in with a raised eyebrow. She didn't like herself having been exlusively let out by the other.

Kiba nodded, glancing at their commander in the mirror. "Yeah. We got two talkies now - we can communicate with those on low volume."

Naruto beamed a grin. "Oh, yeah! Sweet - what luck!"

Sasuke faintly made a face. _Wasn't I just saying earlier that it's best to avoid a situation where we're separated...?_ He sighed heavily again, looking out the side window. _... I don't like this... But what other choice is there...?_ He had to trust that they could fend for themselves in there. Naruto was right - he was the best piece to position outside of the pharmacy; he could best handle himself alone and knock away any undesired surprises from outside. And with the handheld transceivers they now possessed - hell of a timing in getting them, he thought - it would make this whole operation smoother. Well, as smooth as it could get. A corner of his lips pulled back in dissatisfaction at the whole situation, eyes turning back to glower at the map.

"Alright," he said sternly, causing everyone to look to him. "I'll remain outside then. First, Kiba and Naruto will locate a vehicle to set off while Ino remains with me. After most of the dead have cycled away, Ino, Kiba and Naruto - you guys will infiltrate the pharmacy. Be ready, be alarmed - do _not_ let your guards down - not a single one of you." He looked at them all pointedly. "Do not get distracted. We are there for all supplies we can manage to obtain. Ino - try to reorganize the duffel bags to free some up for you guys to take. I'm not sure how much supplies will be there, but it's best to be prepared just in case. This could be a good haul or not, but I don't want any of you getting your hopes up because we do not need the drama of picking up the pieces if things go south. Understood?" The lot of them nodded, Ino moving from her spot to do just as she was ordered before the raven continued. "You all watch each other's backs. There will be _no_ arguing," he looked between Ino and Naruto, "You will be quiet. You will be quick. You will be efficient. You will be _focused_ and keep only the goal and the safety of you and your comrades in mind. Understood?" They nodded again. "Batteries, food, water, medical supplies, medicine, weapons of any sort or things we can construct into weapons: all are top priorities to grab. Do nothing unnecessary - efforts must not be wasted. Understood?" Another round of nods came before Sasuke let out a small huff. He briefly watched as Ino went through the things in the duffel bag before his eyes flicked to Naruto as he stood, hands moving to roll up the map.

"You look exhausted," Naruto said quietly to him.

"... We're all exhausted," Sasuke responded even quieter, eyes moving to look out his window to the left. He could feel blue crystals driving into him but he just lowered himself into his seat, crossing his arms over his chest, his gun laying at his side. He honestly couldn't remember the last time they all had a decent night of rest. He knew it felt long over due, though. _... God... Please, just don't let this go to hell..._ He wasn't sure if that was a prayer, a plead, or what, but he said it a few more times regardless, his arms tightening.

Naruto observed the raven with a frown. Faded memories danced across the back of his eyes but dispersed as quickly as they'd come. Now wasn't the time to be caught up in such things. He looked to the rolled map, a look of determination setting in his eyes.

* * *

><p>His jaw didn't relax; his shoulders didn't relax; his whole body overall just couldn't relax. Sasuke was as rigid as a board and he kept having to stretch out his fingers to save them from freezing so stiffly in position, but he'd immediately replace his hand on his gun and give a weary glance around the perimeter. It'd be a lie if the raven said he wasn't nervous or on edge. It was almost making him jumpy, which just pissed himself off. He needed to calm down. He needed to trust. They'd been separated before, but no one had yet ever been out of sight like this. He drew in a slow breath and softly placed his finger over the trigger once more, one eye falling shut as the other pressed against the scope of his gun, evaluating the area in front of the drug store. As he removed himself from the scope, he cautiously lifted his walkie-talkie, pressing down on the side button. "How is it...?" He hadn't heard too much commotion from inside quite yet but even in the silence didn't settle him any.<p>

A crackle was heard for a moment. _"There was three rot-sacks walking around in here but Naruto and Ino took care of 'em,"_ Kiba responded in a low voice. _"There's a few others, but they're trapped by obstacles. Looks like one of them was the pharmacist..."_

Sasuke dismissed the pharmacist comment instantly and instead felt somewhat eased Ino seemed to be in her right mind. "Copy that," he murmured, eyes sliding over towards the direction the blaring horn was coming from. It was a good mile down the road or so. The dead were making their way to it like flies on shit, or perhaps vultures on a corpse.

Onyx orbs narrowed before one was placed to his scope again. He could slightly make out his teammates' figures beyond the dingy and grimy glass of the pharmacy, but he could only see two, and he wasn't even sure which one was who. A good five minutes passed before Sasuke's worry grew a little too much. "... Have you guys found anything yet?" he inquired after a small bit of hesitation. Using the two-way made him nervous for mutiple reasons, the main one being if he spoke when he shouldn't have and gave away any sort of position, which he dearly hoped he hadn't just done. Perhaps it would've been best for him to remain silent and the others communicate with him instead? Why was that tactic just now coming to him? His judgement felt clouded. His lips pinched in a corner as a frown dawned his face, his eyes falling to the handheld transceiver.

There hadn't been a response.

He stared hard at it, willing for a reply. He brought it towards his mouth again but paused, lowering it a moment, his previous thought cycling back. His eyes peered through his scope as he brought the device up and pressed on the button. "Kiba?" He couldn't see anything in the windows.

More silence followed.

Sasuke's jaw clenched. "Kiba, do you copy?" he spoke urgently, eyes narrowing as if that'd help his visual focus any further. His brow slowly furrowed. There were no longer two silhouettes through the filthy windows of the run down structure. _Where did...?_ "Ki - " he began but was startled when an obnoxious beeping yelped back at him, making him instantly release the button, eyes falling to the contraption. _The hell?_ He stared sharply at the HT before stiffening. In a mere blink, Sasuke's left hand drew his dagger from an inner holster of his coat, his body swiveling around leftward to drive the tip of his blade straight into the forehead of a crawling dead man. Sasuke's eyes stared down coldly as the creature sputtered before going limp, his knife making a sort of _shlnk_ sound as it slid free. _Son of a bitch..._ Quickly, he scanned his area for any further threat and after deeming no further immediate threats, he threw his attention back through his scope. _Where did they go...?! _He couldn't see any movement at all. _Why is their radio off...? _"God, damn it, Kiba...!" he hissed, slamming his dagger back in its holster as well as shoving the HT in a pocket before bringing up both his hands to man his weapon.

His eyes shot wide when he suddenly heard the explosion of three rounds sound off.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note(s) -<strong>

1) I know next to nothing about guns, so from here on out, I apologize for any mistakes in firearms talk. |"D


	2. Don't Be Cheeky

OHEY YEAH UH HI. AHAHA. HAHA. HA. HI THERE. Um. So. That once a month thing. I think it was a joke. Ahaa? No? Okay. My bad. u_u;; I had a week to two weeks dedicated to family last month and then I've been sick this past week and those are all the excuses I have which doesn't cover all the weeks I need excuses for and I'm just really super lame okay, sorryyy. |"DD (Istillcan'tguaranteeI'llupdatethisanyfasterthanIamnowACK.) && I hope this chapter isn't lame for you guys unlike mee. ;_;""

But I wanna thank you guys so much for the reviews and the follows. ;;_;; They mean a lot like afhdasfla. 33 Thank yoouu!

Naruto (c) M. Kishimoto

_Series Warning:_ _Rated __**M**__ for strong language, various implications, multitude of violence, possible sexual conduct, etc..._

* * *

><p>"<em>Whoa<em>!"

"Idiot!" Ino snarled out, her blade having sunk with ease into the dilapidated skull of the female walker that paused in a trembling stop from the puncture to her source of haunted movement. The blond removed her weapon, ignoring the disgusting moist sound the action emitted and watched as the corpse dropped to a morbid heap. "What the hell did Sasuke say?! Can't you follow orders right at all? Useless moron!" the blond barraded the other, flicking her dagger to the side to rid a bit of the spoiled blood that covered it.

Naruto glared hard, a scowl developing on his face. "I thought I had heard something over - !"

"You're suppose to be _fully_ aware of your damn surroundings!" Ino bit between Naruto's defense, not caring to hear it in the least, her dagger pointed towards her teammate. "You're such a nuisance!"

"I'm a - ?! You - " Naruto began but let his words fall into a contained growl instead to cut himself off. He didn't need to add fuel to fire, no matter how much he wanted to see Ino just _burn_ right now. _He_ was a nuisance? Really? _This bitch..._ he bitterly thought. He drew a sharp breath in through his nose before shoving it out from his lips in a heated burst. "Whatever," he ended it. He _could_ follow orders, and he'd show Ino just that by not playing into her stupid little head games. Trying not to grind his teeth over the situation, he turned to continue their mission.

The two blonds, however, were startled and jumped when they suddenly heard something crash, both of them whirling their attention to the other side of the store where the noise had erupted from. Ino and Naruto called out to their fellow comrade in a panic and bolted towards the brunet. When they neared them, Ino was almost mortified to see him trying to awkwardly fend off a rather large skin-bag in a white lab coat. The boy hadn't had time enough to draw his weapon, so he was currently having his flashlight horizontally shoved into the walker's mouth, disallowing it to bite but it left him no leeway to defend himself against the thing's arms, one grabbing tightly at the sleeve of his shirt, fingers clawing over the fabric ravenously. _Fuck, fuck...!_ Kiba's eyes squinted as he mustered the effort of not buckling down beneath the other's pressing weight.

"Kiba!" Ino called in distress, her hands floundering about for her gun but her scattered motions stopped abruptly, body jolting into a frozen stand-still after watching as a blade striked into the lower section of cranium of the zombie.

Kiba grunted harshly as he shoved the thing back, it crumbling to the floor the next second. A bead of sweat trickled down Kiba's brow and he swallowed thickly, heart hammering obnoxiously in his chest as his eyes stared with chagrin at the creature, flashlight lowered with the beam aimed at its face that was only half covered by a slab of stretched and rotting flesh, broken teeth and bone exposed. "Jesus Christ... ... Ugly fucker."

Naruto's chest rose and fell quickly from the sudden rush of both action and emotion, as did Kiba's and Ino's. Naruto really didn't care to think if Kiba had been... He let the thought fall off and just bent down to the disgusting corpse, yanking out his knife. He made a face at the blood before standing and looking to his friend with a heavily concerned expression. "You... okay?" The question was laced with several emotions - amongst them were fear, concern, and dread.

Ino approached the two cautiously, eyes warily looking over Kiba just as Kiba himself was, his hands feeling over his arms for any rips or tears, eyes delving across his skin for any sort of abrasions, fingers trembling drastically as he cycled through his muddled motions. The fabric of his coat hadn't been breached and he knew the walker hadn't laid a single snaggling tooth on him. For a moment, his hands lingered over his upper arms, palms pressed down rather heavily. He knew he was shaking and he knew he shouldn't be. He grit his teeth and straightened his arms, fists coiling in tightly as he tried his best to settle himself. He drew in a breath before finally speaking, "I don't think we came in here quite with the right mind set as Sasuke would've liked..." He looked to the body of his flashlight and frowned with a chill at the grated marks the corpse's teeth had left. Like metallic scars of what could've been his flesh. "I think I'm okay," he said after a moment, looking away from himself and focusing on Naruto. "Just stirred up a bit... Thanks."

Naruto gave a simple nod, his stiff face not properly expressing the large amount of relief that washed through him. He turned away from Kiba and looked around with a more speculative eye for any other strolling corpses. They should've scoped the place as a team for straggling skinbags, like a net threading through water, and taken them out accordingly instead of spreading out from the get-go. It was a very stupid move and one he should've caught far before they entered the danger zone twice within a single half hour. Sasuke was going to be pissed when they relayed the report to him after this. This is why they didn't have a second in command - no one was fit for the job. This caused Naruto's brow to crease.

Ino, however, had her dubious gaze lingering on the brunet. It'd be a bluff if she said a piece of her wasn't trying to convince herself Kiba wasn't lieing about having any wounds but she turned away reluctantly. If they didn't have trust within their own group - what did they have? Insecurities and doubts, and those did no one any good. Seeding such suspicions now would just lead to an ugly growth of a downfall, she was sure. She huffed out a breath and moved across into a different isle, wanting to be away from the two boys. The path was blocked off at the end by a fallen shelving unit, multiple things laying scattered about. She brushed her light beam over the area and frowned, seeing what looked to have been a customer trapped under the rubble. She was moaning and gurgling, hand stretching out hungrily for Ino. The blond snorted and began her way down the isle, searching the contents of where she could reach. She was assigned to get any medical supplies, medicines, batteries and the like. Naruto was told to loot for weapons or anything they could construct to make weapons, food, water, and any other supplies he thought necessary. Kiba was mainly in charge of food but was to grab anything else that seemed like it'd be important. Agitatedly, Ino searched the labels of the medicines and smiled. _Pain killers... Cold medicine. Perfect._ She grabbed up the items and stuffed them away in her duffel bag. _I guess shrimpdick was right... This place hasn't been touched at all. If we could've brought the bus, we could've just begun hauling everything on there. This might as well be a jackpot._ An excited smile tugged at a corner of her chapped lips.

Naruto, having strayed off as well, found himself down the magazine isle, raising an eyebrow at some of the questionable covers. Some held modelesque women stretched out in tiny bikinis, draping their long and damp-skinned limbs over old fashion muscles cars while other magazines showed muscular men and several tips on medical and non-medical ways to get the "perfect something-or-another". _God... _he thought almost painfully, resting an elbow up on one of the shelves as he looked over a different cover that had text going on and on about sexy summer somethings. _Everything seemed so simple then... _Naruto inwardly cringed. The word 'then' made it feel like this apocolypse had been going on for years now when it that was hardly the case. Everything just felt so dragging yet passed by in mere blurrs. The days the seeming eradication of the human race began could be measured in mere painful _months_. Naruto wasn't sure how many - maybe it was tipping onto four? Five? He didn't have a clue. Keeping track of time these days was an odd thing to him, and the subject usually lead his thoughts down a darker, much undesired path. How much time did he have left? How much time did any of them have left? How long would they be able to stay together like this? How long would this go on? Would it ever end, and when...? These questions plagued him more often than he'd ever care to admit and it was a struggle to step away from them. They could get rather suffocating or overwhelming if Naruto let such thoughts run rampant for too long. It was a scary thing. That side of him felt sympathetic towards Ino when she let the dark part of her mind get the better of her.

However, Sasuke had a tendency to make it easier to focus on other things. Blue eyes narrowed at a cover, a frown tugging even further at his lips. _Why does that look like...?_ His thoughts left hung as his body reacted before his mind even knew what was happening. His hand sprung out like a striking snake, the tip of his dagger immersing into the eyeball of a burbling deadman, the force of his strength causing the decaying mass to stumble back before Naruto pushed further, shoving them to the ground by direction of his blade, driving the sharp metallic object deeper, all the way to the hilt. The pupils of his eyes had condensed from the sudden rush but as his mind registered what had happened, they expanded normally again, his lips emitting dry pants. Naruto yanked out his weapon, making a disgusted face at the ocular souvinire it brought with. "Yummy..." he grumbled, flicking his blade to rid of the undesired present. It flew and bounced off to never be seen again. Naruto wiped his blade on what clothes the walker had left before suddenly jolting around, knife poised in aggressive defense with flashlight aimed at the face of the approacher.

"Easy there," Kiba said softly, holding his hands up. He'd been a mere isle over when having heard the commotion. He had had his gun ready in his hands but relaxed position when he saw Naruto on the ground, having already delt with the threat. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just another straggler." Naruto stood and nudged the body some with the tip of his shoe in gesture. "Didn't touch me. ... We kind of were shit at doing this," he admitted.

"Yeah..." Kiba mumbled, unable to disagree. "No wonder Sasuke was nervous..." He sighed, scratching at the back of his head some with the fingers that held his gun. "We're a bunch of idiots without him."

Naruto snorted. "Sucks ass. Let's not tell him that. Actually, how 'bout we just omit a few details from this mission altogether, eh?"

Kiba snorted with a faint smirk. "Yeah right. He'd see right through it."

"Yeah..." Naruto granted reluctantly. "... What a bastard."

"Heh..." The brunet shook his head some. Naruto's mood in a time like this was somewhat comforting. "Anyway... This store is damn well stocked. You and Sasuke were right on the mark. I don't think this place has been touched since shit went to hell," Kiba stated, looking around before his eyes zeroed in on Ino's moving light in the near distance. He and Naruto both tensed in a start at hearing the crackle of the walkie-talkie that was attached to the brunet's hip. He'd forgotten the things entire existance.

_"How is it...?"_ came the staticky voice of their leader.

As Naruto huffed with a grin ghosting on his lips at their chief's voice, Kiba unhooked his two-way and brought it up, responding quietly, "There was three rot-sacks walking around in here but Naruto and Ino took care of 'em." Inuzuka turned, keeping the HT held in his free hand as he walked away from Naruto and towards the food isles. He glanced down one and noticed similar to what Ino had - another once innocent being trapped beneath fallen debris. It was a sad sight, but what was more sad than the sight itself was the fact that Kiba felt unaffected by it - he was too use to scenes like this and ones far more tragic. That itself was perhaps a tragedy. "There's a few others, but they're trapped by obstacles. Looks like one of them was the pharmacist..." He thought back to the first one that attacked him and closed his eyes, shaking away the memory. He continued on, venturing down an isle that was stocked with snack foods. He just wanted to open every single bag and cram all the food he could possibly fit into his stomach right then and there.

_"Copy that."_

Kiba replaced the two-way onto the hook latched to his belt loop. He brought forth the duffel bag he was entrusted with and began to grab items off the shelves. With each bag he grabbed, he'd open it up to release the air before tightly wrapping it shut again in order for more room in the duffel bag. During one of those moments, a wafting scent of chips crawled up his nose, making his eyebrow twitch, his stomach giving a low, pleading growl to be fed. _Man... Maybe we should stuff our fucking faces here before we actually load up on shit. Would that be a good idea? With the walkers drawn away... We could try securing this place... And maybe stay here a few days..._ Kiba thought as he grabbed, opened, curled shut and placed rather mechanically, a discomforted expression on his face with his eyebrows pinching downward. He felt so drained and exhausted - he was sure all of them felt the same. If his survival instincts weren't pushing him so fiercely, his legs would've long ago given out on him. Kiba always had a lot of stamina growing up as a kid, being in track teams in school and a couple of other sports, always having been in particularly peak shape - but _this - _ what the world was now - brought everything to so many new levels. Some days he just wanted to say fuck it and collapse and just - _rest_. He felt like he wouldn't care what happened to him, he just wanted a few minutes of pure relaxed _rest_, to let everything _go._ He felt like he could die peacefully then. But then another part of him - a much larger part right now - knew that was stupid. It was weak and cowardice. Even if he felt that nagging sensation every once in a while, it'd be a selfish thing to do. Sasuke, Naruto, and even Ino depended on him. He was part of something a little bigger than himself. Sometimes the brunet felt that was the main thing of what motivated him not to give up. He owed a lot to the people he traveled with - his life at the top of that list. At this point, they were the closest thing to family he had.

Clenching his jaw momentarily, Kiba shook his head to rid his mind of such wandering thoughts. He needed to focus. Grabbing another bag and pausing to actually read over it, he huffed. _I hate this flavor..._ he inwardly whined and actually smiled at himself. _I miss the luxury of being picky... What a thing to miss..._ He let the air loose before curling up the bag and stowing it away. As he reached out for another, his actions were stalled by the crackling sound of his walkie-talkie, his eyes falling towards it.

_"... Have you guys found anything yet?" _

A smirk curled at the corner of Kiba's lips. _Worried, are you...?_ he thought with a tinge of amusement, his hand casually moving to grab at his two-way but he stopped, just barely noticing as a beam of red light bounced briefly off his wrist. At first, his brow pinched in confusion. His eyes slowly followed after the direction that the red light went, his condensed pupils watching as it ghosted over the far wall only a moment before it disappeared in a blink. His blood ran cold as his eyes widened with mute realization. He inwardly cringed, eyes falling into a half-crested glare as his face contorted into a faint scowl. His body grew very still while he felt the narrow barrel of a gun to the nape of his neck. He swallowed thickly.

"Drop the bag." a low voice whispered from behind. "Then don't move."

_Fuck...! _Was the first word to come to Kiba's panicking mind but outwardly, he continued to remain perfectly stiff. The brunet cautiously lowered the duffel bag, setting it down gently before he stood straight again, raising his hands up as unhurriedly as he could, showing they were empty. His knife and flashlight had been tucked away before he began his packing objective. _Fuckin'...! I didn't hear him at all...!_

"I said not to move. Not raise your hands," the voice remarked flatly, making Kiba's left brow develop a single twitch.

_"Kiba?" _crackled the handheld transceiver attached to the brunet's hip, causing Kiba to grit his teeth.

_Shut the fuck up, Sasuke!_ he howled mentally at the other. A small breath escaped him when he felt the barrel behind press just ever so slightly against his flesh more.

"Turn it off," the gunman ordered.

"Does that mean I can move...?" Kiba responded bitterly, tossing a glare to the side.

"Don't be cheeky."

Scowling, Kiba slowly lowered his hand down, switching the walkie-talkie off in a swift motion. He replaced his hand in the air afterward.

"I don't plan to shoot you," the man said, causing Kiba's eyes to narrow, "So don't - "

"Kiba!"

Kiba's eyes shot wide, chin jolting upwards as his attention quickly zeroed in on Ino at the other end of the isle, her horrified expression burning into his mind like a sun glare. His lips parted in a wild panic as he registered the blond clamoring for her gun in the next fraction of a second, objecting words barely managing to tear out of his mouth before rounds of bullets spat loudly through the air. The next instant, Kiba was shoved unceremoniously, causing him to clash hard with the ground of the building, his ears ringing obnoxiously a second later, mind reeling at what had just happened. His eyes were wrenched shut and he felt stunned, unsure as of why.

Naruto had jumped so terribly at Ino's sudden scream of their comrad's name that he had just about dropped his flashlight. The next instant, he did drop the object, it crashing to the ground hard enough for the lense to crack clear across and the bulb to flicker into a short out, the blond's area dipping into disorientating shadows. His eyes were wide with panic as he whirled in the direction of the bullets, body taking off before his mind even fully registered what was going on, legs just barely not stumbling over themselves and debris that Naruto could just barely see. "Kiba?!" he hollered in grave worry, "Ino?!" He rounded the one mouth of the isle he saw the only flashlight left on coming from, having a rough time stopping himself from the propelled inertia. He winced when Ino's flashlight hit his eyes, turning his head just a slight but forced his optics to quickly get the fuck over it. The flashlight was on the ground, facing his way. Naruto's eyes quickly flicked leftward to a heap of what first appeared to be a black mass before his eyes really focused on what it was - two bodies on the ground, one still while the other barely moving. His heart lurked painfully in his chest as a million and one scenarios danced across his mind. "What...?" he murmured almost breathlessly, a foot stammering back a step. "What - "

"_Fuck_!"

Naruto visibly flinched at hearing the sudden curse, his mind snapping back from where it had begun to trail off to, eyes blinking as he began to observe whoever - or even whatever - was on top of the two bodies rise. His brow slowly began to furrow as he realized the rather pale man was human, and he was absolutely no one familiar to him. For the first split second, he thought it had been Sasuke, but he was very quickly corrected in that delusion. He grit his teeth tight when he realized the stranger had a gun pointed at Kiba, who was beginning to sit up himself but remained on his knees, his one hand clutching over his left shoulder tightly. Even in the horrid lighting, Naruto could see the red seeping through the other's coat. Kiba had been shot. Anger boiled in the pit of the blond's stomach. "What the hell?!" he barked out, reaching swiftly for his gun but was halted when he suddenly found another gun pointed at his face.

The unfamiliar man clad in nothing but black beheld two guns now, aimed at two of their group members' heads. His hands didn't shake at all. It made Naruto's teeth clench.

Ino stood with her hands trembling around a gun, eyes wide with tears pooling at the corner of them. Her gaze wouldn't leave Kiba's wound. It was bleeding. Kiba was in pain. She'd shot him.

"Were you trying to shoot your friend?" the voice questioned, his tone flat, emotionless and rather unamused.

Ino let out a faint, unsteady breath. Naruto could see even from where he was she was no good to shoot a damn elephant at point blank right now; her aim was at absolutely nothing, her hands holding her pistol merely on faulty autopilot anymore. Her face was damp with sweat. It was easy read at least half of what was going on here for the blond. His teeth ground harshly. He never felt so irritated at a woman before.

"Ino!" Naruto barked harshly and loudly, taking a step forward as he focused on her.

"He - He has a gun!" the woman stammered out, her words sounding as if they tripped over themselves as they tumbled from her lips. Her eyes wildly flicked between Kiba and stranger. She gave a dry pant before her fingers claws around the trigger of her gun, the piece being aimed at the other gunman's head now. He didn't seem unnerved in the least and merely gazed at Ino. She couldn't read him, and it was freaking her out. She was further unsettled that the man had a steady finger on a piece aimed at Naruto, too.

Naruto's attention moved with Ino's. He grit his teeth and pulled out his own gun quickly, aiming it despite having a gun pointed on him as well. "Don't move, you fuck!" Naruto spat viciously, cocking back his gun.

Kiba groaned some, head bowing as he continued to grasp his wounded, shoulder, a stinging pain erupting continuously from it. He cursed quietly, bringing his hand away to feel the thick liquid staining his fingers. He clenched his fist and grimaced at the texture. "Fuck... You stupid woman..."

Ino's eyes watched him as he studied and processed what happened and she visibly flinched at the words that fell off the brunet's breath. It had been an accident. She hadn't meant to shoot him. She was aiming for the other guy - the other guy! It was his damn fault! The fucking idiot! "You - You have two guns on you! There's three - three people! You're outnumbered! Give up!" She strained to make her voice sound strong but not a soul was convinced.

"I could shoot your wounded and you in the same amount of time it would take me to shoot him," the man said, moving his attention to Naruto, making the blond want to shift in position under the eyes but he remained perfectly still. "Being outnumbered does not mean one is at a disadvantage."

"You...!" Ino hissed, moving to step forward.

"Stop," Naruto ordered suddenly, causing Ino to recoil for a brief second and look to him.

"Wha - " she began to question but stopped, thrown off by the serious face Naruto adorned. It was an odd expression on him. He wasn't always grinning or anything like that, but usually he looked annoyed or excited - never this serious - never this... _calculating_. It made her gaze act like a tennis ball between him and the stranger, causing her to swallow dryly at the tension in the air. She was settling from her previous panic, but the tremble in her hands wouldn't leave.

"... What is that you want?" Naruto said after a thick silent moment, his head turning to the side just ever so slight, cerulean eyes piercing against the other man. They're gazes held each other before Naruto's lips tightened at seeing one of the fakest smiles he'd ever witnessed before pull onto the pale guy's face, like the corners of his mouth were tugged by strings alone.

"Certainly not to kill your lot, if I'm to be honest."

Ino's eyebrow twitched, "You son of a... !"

"... If that's the case, then lower your weapons," Naruto said in a low, calm voice.

"I'm not going to lower my own means of defense with two weapons on me," the man replied, tilting his head as if Naruto's words were such a curious thing of a request. "Or at least with the hot-blooded witch over there having her itchy finger on a trigger."

Ino's eyes blazed and she opened her mouth to retort, but Naruto beat her to the punch.

"Fine," he said, causing his comrade to fall into an irate silence. "She'll lower her weapon... and place it on the ground," Naruto said, moving his attention slowly from the gunman to Ino, his words travelling into an indirect order.

Ino stared at him like he was mad.

"And she'll do it now."

Her lip curled into a defiant snarl but when her eyes drifted to Kiba, her anger crumbled into pieces. Her shoulders slumped just a noticeable some and her expression fell into a sullen bitterness. She snorted and bent down, lightly dropping her piece onto the ground before standing up, stepping back and holding up her hands, handing Naruto the most unhappiest look she could possibly muster. She was going to hit him so hard if they made it through this bullshit.

Naruto flicked his sight back to the man. "If you don't want to kill us, then what's your plan here?"

The man gave that puppet smile again. "I don't wish to steal your supplies either, if you're thinking that. Regardless, I don't think you will believe me."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I'm not in the mood to play games..."

"You act as if I was the one to shoot your friend when I certainly was not," the man said in breezy defense. "He is bleeding rather profusely though."

"Oh, gee, glad that's been brought to everyone's attention..." Kiba murmured, one eye having fallen shut. He was feeling lightheaded and the room was coming in and out of focus for him. He was beginning to even have a hard time taking in whatever the conversation at hand was about. "But don't mind me... I'll just bleed to death here... It's cool... Nooot a big deal..."

Naruto frowned, looking worriedly to his friend. "... The hell do you want from us?!" he barked angrily. "Just tell me, damn it!"

The man looked away from Kiba to Naruto again, his smile having faded at the change in the blond's tone. He tilted his head just a slight before the gun aimed at Kiba lowered and then was put away. "You..." He looked to Ino. "Patch him up, won't you?" That smile returned and Ino glared fiercely.

She tossed a questioning glance at Naruto, who seemed confused by the man's actions at first before giving Ino a single nod. So very cautiously, Ino approached the two. The gunman's weapon didn't move from Naruto, but he watched Ino's every move. His eyes were so empty, and his face had become blank again. It was creepy, like an emotionless porcelain doll. It gave her shivers and she wanted to be nowhere near this freak. "C'mon..." she whispered to Kiba before looking to him, gently grabbing his arm on the side he hadn't been wounded, lifting him enough to aid him in walking away from the stranger. He was heavy, and wasn't walking very steadily. Once she returned to her side of the isle, she laid him down and grabbed up her flash light to look over the bleeding area, leaving Naruto and the stranger rather in the dark save for the small light that was slipping through the dingy windows of the health center.

"How is he...?" Naruto asked, trying to mask the worry in his voice.

"The bullet... didn't go through and through," Ino said softly. "I need the duffel bag," she muttered, quickly getting up to go find the said item.

"... She's the medic in your group, is she not?"

Naruto blinked, moving his attention back to the stranger. His lips pressed thin, no reply begin given.

"... And presumably, you're in command?"

"I've no reason now to answer your questions."

"I suppose not. But my arm is getting tired. Can't we speak on more amicable terms?"

Naruto's eyebrow ticked just a bit. "You sweep in and put my friend at gun point and you're asking _me_ to speak on _amicable terms_?"

"Yes."

Naruto's face tightened. "You... Who are you?" His gun lowered just a fraction, not longer aimed at the face but still readily enough to shoot the fuck out of his body if necessary. The other didn't move his gun.

"I'm not sure who I am is quite an important yet. But you're Naruto, correct? And the others are Kiba and... mm... Witch?"

"Ino..." Naruto said, rather unimpressed.

"Ah, yes. Ino. I suppose a medic is useful, if not for anything else."

"I get it. You're misogynistic."

"Oh, no - do not read me wrong. I've utterly nothing against women. I just don't like them so ugly."

"_Excuse me, you fucker_?!" came Ino's shrill snarl, her grip on the duffel bag ringing. If it was a neck, it'd surely be broken.

Naruto's eyes closed out of pure annoyance, a heavy sigh falling from his lips. "Seriously... Just tend to Kiba!" he barked at her, gesturing one hand to their friend. Such a mistake.

"_Naruto_!" was the shriek from Ino that Naruto heard before he found himself with a thick arm around his neck, just barely giving his throat leeway to breath while he felt the cold bite of a pistol barrel to his temple.

He tried to speak but it came out as a choked sputter, his one hand shooting up to viciously grab at the arm, if nothing but in plea of air. He coughed once, moving to aim his gun but stopped when he heard the disapproving clicking noises of the man's tongue and the pressure of the barrel further against his flesh.

"I'd just go ahead and drop that if I were you."

"Y-You..." Naruto grit his teeth.

"I've given you no reason to trust me, and in the end, it's best you never do. I don't plan to kill you, but I don't particularly want to be shot myself. Please, drop your weapon."

"... F... Fuck..." the blond hissed, eyes wrenching shut before he let the metallic mechanism slip from his finger tips. It clattered to the ground. He was startled at suddenly being jolted, the gun moving from his head to be aimed across the way, and he understood why upon seeing Ino, the woman having once again grabbed up her gun in the midst of the shuffle and was now aiming towards them. Somehow - he didn't feel comfortable. He swallowed. To say he had no trust in Ino's ability to aim right now was putting it kindly. "Ino..." he tried but his disrupted voice warranted no authority. "I thought... y-you... wanted to talk..." he said to his captor, both of his hands now grabbing at the arm, pulling at the coat sleeve that covered the limb.

"Oh, I certainly do. I just feel like it'd be better this way."

"H-How... You asked... to be... amic-cable... This... is not... "

"I'm certain even if we would've set away our weapons, you would've calculated a way to get me on my knees and to have a knife to my neck. I'm not sure if you would've killed me, but the situation in general sounds rather unpleasant."

Naruto stared forward, forgetting about his discomfort for a second. _... I do have a knife, don't I... Shit... Why didn't I think of that?_ "... Tch...! Damn it...! I didn't have a p-problem listening to... you!"

"Tell the witch to lower her weapon then."

"I'm not gonna fuckin' lower my weapon until you let him go!" Ino snarled.

The man shifted some, Naruto forcibly shifting with him. "I'll readily shoot you," he informed her, "But I've no plans on hurting your commander."

_But you're already hurting me..._ Naruto idly thought, coughing at the constriction on his air ways. _If he presses any harder, I'm gonna pass out... Sh-shit..._

"I'll say this again... Tell the witch to lower her weapon."

Naruto's gaze traveled to Ino and her stubborn position. "Ino - "

"No!"

He glared. "Just fucking l-lower it, damn you...!"

"No!"

"Fuckin'... bitch..." he hissed. "She's not... gonna listen to me..."

"... Are you not the one in command then?" came the man's quiet inquiry, causing Naruto to look towards him. "Telling you my plans that would've been useless then."

"N-No..." Naruto said, grunting some. "It wouldn't be... useless... Telling me your plans... would actually be your b-best option... _If I'm to be h-honest._"

"Hm." The man gave a soft huff. "You lot are rather cheeky, aren't you...?" He was quiet a moment. "... The witch lowers her weapon and I'll release you."

"Release him first!"

"I don't trust you," the man said. "Now, if I had _you_ captive and Naruto here was aiming his gun, I'd certainly release you first - so long as I hadn't killed you by then, of course."

_Oh, god..._ Naruto practically whimpered in his thoughts at the man's unhelpful words.

"You fuckin' cocksucker!" Ino raged.

"Ino, q-quit fucking yelling...!"

She blinked, whirling to look at Kiba who was attempting to sit up.

"Don't move, idiot!"

"H-How about _you_... quit being an idiot... and help me s-stop bleeding... to d-death... How's that... sound...? Holy fuck... room's spinning... Oh, god, this is why I don't... do carousels..." The brunet flopped back down.

"Kiba!" Ino screeched, lurking towards him but stopping when she remembered the other situation at hand. She gnashed her teeth.

"Go on. Tend to him," the smiling man taunted her. "Or will you continue to pointlessly hold your weapon at me while he dies?"

"I-Ino..." Naruto muttered, looking to her. "T-Tend to Kiba or I'll... kill you myself...!"

"... Fuckin' - son of a bitch!" Ino basically threw herself in the other direction and bolted to Kiba's side, setting away her gun and ripping the duffel bag open, searching like crazy for the necessary supplies.

A few seconds past before Naruto was freed, the blond stumbling forward and into an isle shelf, his shoulder bumping against it roughly while his hands went to soothe his neck, air pooling into his lungs fast before he coughed some, grimacing. That was gonna be bruised. "Damn... You got a grip..." he said dryly, looking bitterly towards the other. He watched as the gun was lowered but it wasn't put away, much to Naruto's chagrin.

"You can pick up your weapon again if that makes you feel better..."

"... I just want to know what the fuck you want. That last stint was completely un-fucking-necessary."

"My apologies."

A certain look painted onto Naruto's face that was asking if this guy was a total dumbass or something. Why was he - Was he seriously apologizing? "What...? Ugh, whatever. Just - the fuck do you want?!" Naruto growled, standing up straight as he gained his composure back. Naruto felt ten times more annoyed (if that was possible) at seeing that stupid plastic smile once again draw across the other's face.

"I don't want to kill you nor do I wish to take all of your supplies, Naruto. You see... My name is Sai. And I'd like be your guys' comrade."

* * *

><p><em>It's been too long...<em> Sasuke thought with a grimace of dread. He stood carefully, eyes scanning the area as he made his way out from his station, gun readied as he began quickly stalking across the street, making it to the pharmacy doors. He slung his gun over his shoulder, reaching into his packed vest for his hand piece, bringing it out. His eyes slid to the door, breathing silenced. He held his gun in two hands, bringing it up as he side-stepped towards the entrance. He gave a last glance around the buildings before he quietly shouldered himself inside, pointing his gun in the directions he looked before he moved to take shelter behind an isle shelving unit. He knelt down, bringing his gun back upward, listening. He could hear muffled voices. _Is that Naruto...?_ He frowned, unable to clearly make out what he was saying. He stood and slowly moved towards the next isle, aiming his gun as his eyes moved about for any threat. His gun retracted and he knelt again. He repeated this once more before he paused in his fourth attempt, suddenly hearing a new voice he didn't recognize.

"I'm not particularly crazy, no," the voice said, the tone rather flat but somehow, Sasuke could tell he was amused for some reason. This made him frown, scowling.

"That decision isn't up to us..." Naruto said after a moment, his voice sounding strained and irritated but was kept low and calm. He was very tense and sounded a bit haggard.

"Oh? So you _aren't_ the one in charge then."

_There's nowhere for me to get high ground..._ Sasuke thought, looking around at what sections of the store he could see. He estimated them maybe one or two more isles away, and he wasn't sure what the situation was, so going any closer could be too risky. Was there only one enemy, or were they in a formation? Was he armed? He grit his teeth, taking in a silent breath before moving himself to another isle over. He could hear them clearly now, and could tell the two were right on the other side

"Then whom, pray tell, is such a decision left to? How many more are there of you?"

Silence met the question, and Sasuke understood why. Admitting to more being in your party could be a damaging thing, both for the party present and the ones not. He, Naruto and Kiba have witnessed that sort of thing before, and none of them desired to see it again. _Where is Kiba...?_ he thought, having not yet heard the brunet speak. _Naruto wouldn't be so collected if something happened to him..._ he quickly reasoned, trying to quell the nagging worry he felt as he moved himself across the way, listening. By the placements of their voices, Naruto was near the leftward end from Sasuke and the other person wasn't too far from him. The raven made his way to the other side of the isle, carefully avoiding any debris or falling merchandise. _He must've been here for the supplies as well... Shit...!_

"I can tell you right now, we're not exactly open to new members who greet us in the _kind way_ you did..." Naruto remarked dryly.

_New members...?_ Sasuke frowned.

The stranger handed the other silence for an uncomfortable moment (on Naruto's part). "I suppose you have a point," the mysterious man stated.

"Just fucking shoot him in the damn head, Naruto!" Sasuke heard Ino snarl bitterly, causing him to look more towards the direction he'd been heading, feet stopping. Ino was on the other side of the isle from Naruto. Her voice was cracking, sounding like a mixture of exhausted panic and pure anger.

"Shut up!" Naruto ordered both firmly and with annoyance. "I'm not going to shoot him! He'd shoot me before I could grab my gun again anyway!"

_He's unarmed...?!_ Sasuke whirled his head back towards Naruto, eyes widened.

"If not the first, then is it safe to assume second in command?" the man said curiously.

Naruto replied with nothing yet again, a hard gaze thrown at the other.

"Well, regardless of that for the moment... I told you what my intentions were - or rather, what my request is. You said the decision isn't up to you. How about the witch and your injured friend run off to fetch your actual commander then so we may have a chat, hm?"

_Injured...?_ Sasuke's teeth grit. Just what in the fucking blazes of hell happened? _What fucking request...?_

"I can already tell you his answer," Naruto said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"By the look on your face, it doesn't seem very promising... Regardless. It's probably best if we chat anyway, hm? So fetch him, won't you?" He gave that fake smile to Ino, who looked at him in return as if he was the filthiest, most disgusting bacteria in the world. Naruto didn't even think he'd seen her respect the walking skin bags with such disdain.

"That won't be necessary..."

Naruto blinked, heading whipping to the other side of the isle so fast it almost looked painful. His lips fell agape in pure shock at seeing Sasuke standing just behind Ino, gun aimed at the head of the intruder. His face was cold and his eyes promised death.

Ino blinked, her head rearing up to regard their captain. "Sa... Sasuke!" she exclaimed in surprise, momentarily forgetting that she'd been applying pressure to Kiba's wound. She'd be lying if she said a small portion of her was more than startled at how close the raven had gotten without her noticing. She had been so focused on the opponent and Kiba, she hadn't heard anything else around her. Her jaw clenched, eyes falling away from the man. Despite feeling comforted he'd come, she couldn't help but feel even more ashamed.

"Oh?"

Sasuke watched the other tilt his head, gazing at him with sharp, narrowed eyes.

"... Now see - I'm no longer pointing a gun at anyone. Is there a need to - "

"Yes," Sasuke said flatly, further entering the isle, "And you should drop your weapon if you don't want me to blow your face off."

Naruto watched as the expression of the stranger dropped into a placid, unreadable thing. His eyes followed the pale man's movements as he leaned down and set his gun on the floor before straightening up and raising his hands. _The fuck...?!_ Naruto was pissed that the fucker listened with no qualms to Sasuke but when it came to _Naruto_ he puts him in a fucking chokehold! Such bullshit! He couldn't help the glare he stabbed into the Uchiha. _Fucking asshole...! Stop acting so cool!_

Sasuke was mutely surprised how easily the other man relinquished his means of protection but it didn't make him any less cautious. The man was clad in shadow threads in a dark and dank place - he could be hiding numerous other things on his person Sasuke couldn't see. "...The hell is going on?" He spared a glance towards Naruto, but didn't dare glance behind him to gesture to Kiba or Ino. In honesty, he felt absolutely enraged and worried at the condition he saw Kiba in but was glad to see Ino was promptly attending to him. Accusingly, his glare flicked back to the man, who simply smiled and held up his hands just a little bit more.

"I've not fired a single shot, sir. Promise."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed but his attention was diverted when he heard Naruto huff.

"He's telling the truth..." He sounded exasperated now. "He says he's seeking comrades," the blond informed, his expression making it clear he wasn't even quite sure what to make of the situation now.

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded of the stranger next, still not lowering his gun.

"My name is Sai," the other introduced. "Sasuke, was it?"

The raven felt very irritated by the fake smile the other plastered on his face. He wanted to shoot it off. Or at least bash it in with the butt of his gun a few times.

"Don't worry. Naruto here has already confirmed that I'm not out of my mind."

"Not exactly..." the blond murmured, looking elsewhere.

"I realize a request from a stranger to be a part of your team in these times seems both foolish and dangerous, but I implore you to at least think it over. I can offer many great skills and advantages."

"Don't you think it's dangerous for you, too?" Naruto asked, brow furrowed some.

Sai looked to him. "Of course it is. Doing anything with anyone in this world is dangerous anymore. Well, at least, more than before." He looked back to Sasuke. "As far as how the situation went... I sneaked up on your brunet friend there and held him captive in order to speak with him. He was the first I saw so I took my chance. But then that witch there went crazy and shot off a bullet that missed me wildly and shot your friend in the shoulder. Then Naruto entered the scene and managed to control the wild mare. And then Naruto and I were speaking and now here you are."

"After you held me in a chokehold..." Naruto grumbled, sounding rather poutish.

"I already apologized."

"Ass."

"I'mma kill him..." Ino steamed.

Kiba didn't particularly feel any better (or safer) with the streams of hellish hate that were spiraling off of her like a flaming aura. _Fuck my life..._

Sasuke stared at the other, at first questioning if he'd heard the other right before then legitimately questioning if the man _was_ insane. "... Sai...?" He watched the other give a single nod. "... What makes you think we won't just kill you given the chance?"

"... I think you would've already shot me by now if that was the case. If I do turn out to be someone useful, you don't want to waste that chance - that's why you haven't shot me yet. I'm going to believe you're a resourceful and intelligent man. You and Naruto seem very capable within your group. I am capable as well."

"... I can't exactly say he would be useless," Naruto spoke up after a moment of hesitation, causing Sasuke to look to him. "He's strong. I can say that much."

"Are we seriously fucking considering this!?" Ino shrieked in horrified anger. She was diligently ignored.

"But that's all I can say. Your shit demeanor and bad people skills don't really give you a shining resume or recommendation..." Naruto further remarked.

"Ah... I suppose I do have bad people skills, don't I? But surviving doesn't exactly call for the necessity of being a social lite."

"You can say that again..." Kiba muttered from his spot before coughing a bit and grimacing. "Oww..."

"The pain killers should kick in soon..." Ino muttered to him, guilt swirling inside her.

"And as I didn't know what sort of people you were, going up to you without a gun in hand and appearing weak could've been a very bad option for me. But Naruto seems like a very kind person." He smiled to the blond, causing him to shift uncomfortably.

"I'm really not..." Naruto murmured, not sure how to feel about such an analysis on himself.

"And as I said. You seem smart and resourceful." He looked back to Sasuke. "If you'd like, you can strip me of all my weapons and leave me barehanded. I'll prove to still be of use to you guys."

"... Why are you searching for allies when you seem perfectly capable of goin' by yourself?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"Because being alone can only get one so far. And simply, it's lonely. I wouldn't mind some friends in the apocalypse. I don't think that's too much of a surprise for a human to crave, now is it?"

Naruto rose an eyebrow. "I... suppose not, no..." He hadn't ever been alone since the start of this shit, so he couldn't sympathize with the loneliness this Sai person was speaking of. Since the beginning, he'd been at Sasuke's and Kiba's sides. Neither of them had to worry about such a thing while they watched each others' backs. He turned his attention to Sasuke since, in the end, the verdict was in his hands.

"... What's your experience?"

"I was a part of the military. Navy SEAL, specifically," Sai readily provided.

Naruto blinked, gawking at Sai. "Holy shit..." He looked back at Sasuke, "Ain't that...?"

Sasuke simply blinked before he snorted and lowered his weapon. "Figures."

"_Figures_?!" Naruto exclaimed, suddenly flailing his arms in Sai's direction, "What part of _any_ of that merits a '_figures_'?!"

Sasuke handed the blond an annoyed look as he began putting away his hand gun. "It just makes sense on how he managed to down you guys then. Kiba's not a dumbass and you're not a dumbass yet Kiba's lying flat on his back and you were disarmed. Killing you would be useless, " he said the last words so fluently in his statement, Naruto almost thought he was still talking to him for a moment before his attention actually turned to Sai, "and you're right - it would be an extreme waste if it's true you were are a Navy SEAL. If you don't mind, I'd like to put your skill set to use for us then in exchange."

Sai nodded.

"Are you fucking - this is _not_ acceptable!" Ino yelled, standing.

Sasuke merely turned his head a slight to regard the woman. "You have _no_ room to speak in this matter, Yamanaka. Until I get a better report on what exactly happened here, I'd spare my patience from your mewling chatter and take silence immediately."

Ino jolted some before frowning and lowering her head. "... Yes, sir..." She knelt beside Kiba again and fished into the duffel bag to begin properly dealing with Kiba's wound.

Sai observed the other raven and simply nodded. "Oh, yes. There is much of a different between the commander and second in command. I see that now. It really was a grave mistake on my part to assume such a thing." He looked to Naruto, giving him a once over.

Naruto blinked before he squinted angrily. "The hell is that suppose to mean?! You saying I ain't as good as that bastard?!" He wiggled a pointed finger in Sasuke's direction, "Cuz I'll have you know - I could've handled this situation just fine if his ass didn't show up! I _was_ handling it just fine before he showed up!"

"Is that why you were in a chokehold...?"

"_Shut up and die, Kiba!_"

"Such ill wishes..."

Sasuke sighed heavily, rubbing at his temple. _Dumbasses..._

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note(s) -<strong>

As I know next to nothing about guns, I know even less about the military, AHAHA. HA. /flops around like a fish. My expanse of knowledge is so lame YET DOES THAT STOP ME FROM BULLSHITTING MY WAY THROUGH A FIC? PAHAHA, NO. /coughs.


End file.
